Here's one way the floor debate on immigration could unfold next week

The contours of the immigration debate scheduled to begin next week on the floor of the Senate are beginning to take ...

Posted: Feb. 7, 2018 10:10 AM

Updated: Feb. 7, 2018 10:11 AM

The contours of the immigration debate scheduled to begin next week on the floor of the Senate are beginning to take shape.

Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, told reporters Tuesday evening that she believes Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could begin the immigration debate with a neutral House-passed bill that may not have any immigration elements in it. Instead, she said McConnell could invite both sides of the aisle to offer their own immigration amendments all in an effort to keep his thumb off the scale.

"I anticipate that Leader McConnell would bring to the Senate floor a neutral bill, a vehicle if you will, probably a House-passed bill that is not an immigration bill. Then there would be amendments offered on both sides of the aisle," Collins said. "My hope is that our commonsense coalition could come up with a proposal to put forth for our colleagues' consideration."

According to one Senate GOP aide, a House shell bill could be a way forward.

What exactly McConnell will put on the floor is still an open question, of course. But the idea would be to keep any side from feeling like the immigration debate was already weighted against them. Choosing some kind of neutral bill, for example, from the House would also solve future issues surrounding the fact that an immigration bill with border security money would have to originate from the House.